Question

kpytyev

26 January

Russian

English (US)
Spanish (Spain)

Question about English (US)

Hey y'all

Here's what a CNN article says:

A whopping 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were logged by the FAA in 2021.

Why is there an A used with the reports? Is it because the number ends in 1 or something related to the adjective?

Thanks 😊

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Answers

askrahn

26 January

Featured answer

English (US)

@kpytyev it's not related to the 1 at the end of the number or the adjective.

I'm not sure if there's a wider pattern/rule or if this is a special case. "A whopping/massive/miniscule/etc" is a construction that kind of sits outside normal structures, and it emphasizes the size/mass/importance of the object or whole collective as a single thing.

A whopping 5981 reports were...
A great big frog was...
A miniscule 10 people turned up...
...it was only worth a paltry 15¢.

I might think of it as a parenthetical phrase, telling the reader how important the number is?

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totsamyy

26 January

English (US)

I believe it's related to the adjective. We can do it with other words too:
"I make a meager $8 an hour at work."

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edwardws

26 January

English (US)

It's just because of the adjective. We're not clever enough to pull any shenanigans with the large number ending in 1 - that's something only Russians are equipped to do ;) For us, any number above 1 is plural, regardless of the final digit.

You will see the same thing with other adjectives

A staggering 3,458 pineapples ...
A mind-blowing 45 porcupines ...
etc

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askrahn

26 January

English (US)

@kpytyev it's not related to the 1 at the end of the number or the adjective.

I'm not sure if there's a wider pattern/rule or if this is a special case. "A whopping/massive/miniscule/etc" is a construction that kind of sits outside normal structures, and it emphasizes the size/mass/importance of the object or whole collective as a single thing.

A whopping 5981 reports were...
A great big frog was...
A miniscule 10 people turned up...
...it was only worth a paltry 15¢.

I might think of it as a parenthetical phrase, telling the reader how important the number is?

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kpytyev

26 January

Russian

Thanks a lot for your answers!!!
English again laughed in my face when I dared to believe I know it😂

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askrahn

27 January

English (US)

@kpytyev It does that to native speakers too.

"English doesn't have grammatical gender... except blond/blonde... for some reason"

I find knowing the history helps a bit. If that sounds helpful, The History Of English Podcast is pretty good. It's like listening to a college lecture, and the guy might gloss over some controversies, but every episode covers a period of history and the words/grammar that appeared or changed at that time.

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Hey y'all

Here's what a CNN article says:

A whopping 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were logged by the FAA in 2021.

Why is there an A used with the reports? Is it because the number ends in 1 or something related to the adjective?

Thanks 😊

Hey y'allHere's what a CNN article says:A whopping 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were logged by the FAA in 2021.Why is there an A used with the reports? Is it because the number ends in 1 or something related to the adjective?Thanks 😊 See a translation

I believe it's related to the adjective. We can do it with other words too:"I make a meager $8 an hour at work."

Hey y'all

Here's what a CNN article says:

A whopping 5,981 reports of unruly passengers were logged by the FAA in 2021.

Why is there an A used with the reports? Is it because the number ends in 1 or something related to the adjective?

Thanks 😊

See a translation

I believe it's related to the adjective. We can do it with other words too:
"I make a meager $8 an hour at work."